Blue Guide Western Germany

The Blue Guides are the best for details about a location and I have a number of them. James Bentley is very knowledgeable and readable. The Guides are not updated each year but the histories and other details are wonderful additions whether read before of after a visit. Don't buy the Guides for information regarding dining or lodging because there is none, but if I could have only one guide for a country, this would be it.

On our recent trip to Cologne, we found this book was an invaluable companion. If you're not familiar with the Blue Guide series of travel books, they do not cover hotels and restaurants and evening entertainment, but they do cover details about history, architecture, museums, cathedrals, etc., and provide a plan of the major cities. Cities and towns are organized by routes, so if you are driving from one city to the next they are indispensable.In Germany, we loved reading the details about the Dom, and several surrounding less famous churches. The specifics regarding the details in the various museums, the highlights of what you'll see, etc, were very helpful in helping us budget our time.This edition is a little our of date, however, and museum hours have changed in some instances, so call ahead.